Skate light



April 1950 c;. L. HOOLEY 2,502,566

SKATE LIGHT Filed March 25, 1947 FIG. 1.

o FIG 2 O l 6 4 5 3 e1 H K Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SKATE LIGHT Gerald Hooley, Urbana, Ohio Application March 25, 1947, Serial No. 737,004

- 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a new and improved skate attachment and more particularly and specifically to a light adapted to be attached to a roller skate.

The primary object of this invention resides in the provision of a lighting means adapted to be removably attached to a roller skate, and a light which may be selectively turned on or off as desired.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a light attachment for a roller skate of the character described which may be applied to a skate for advantageous reasons such as illumination of the skating surface during darkness, and for a display and novel illuminating decorations for use in skating exhibitions and skating shows.

The provision of a light of the character described is the initial inventive concept, though the particular novelty and embodiment of the invention resides more particularly in the construction and attachment means of the light.

Further improvements and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description is read in the light of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the skate and the light attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross section through the longitudinal axis of the light.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the light.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the light.

Fig; 5 is a top plan view of the light lens.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6- -6 of Fig. 5. I 1

Fig. 7 is a section on line 1-1 of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment of this invention and in which like numerals indicate similar parts throughout A designates a conventional roller skate as used today comprising a foot supporting member I horizontally supported through the medium of the sturdy braces 2 by the usual ball bearing roller wheels 3.

The inventive concept of this invention resides solely in a light and the means for securing this light to the skate at its desired position.

The light and securing means comprise an elongated hollow cylindrical casing B being open at one end 4 thereof and provided with external threads 5 about the circumference thereof adjacent the open end 4 adapting an internally threaded cap 6 to be securely positioned enclosin that end.

The cap 6 is provided with a central aperture 1 therein and a pair of outwardly bumped bosses 8 are provided on diametrically opposite sides of said aperture causing a curved surface to be formed on the-inner face of the cap 6.

An insulated washer 9 is provided concentrically about the aperture 1 on the inner face of the cap and acts to seat one end of a coil spring II] which is positioned concentric therewith and extends inwardly of said casing where the second end of the spring contacts the bottom end of a dry cell or like storage battery II which is housed within the casing B. The spring in retains the contact l2 at the opposite end of the battery against an insulated button [3 formed on the wall of the casing B and in contact with a lead I4 which is disposed between said contact and said button.

The lead I4 is carried, in an insulated condition from said casing, to a point behind an aperture I5.formed in the center of one side wall of the casing and opening therethrough.

'A circular plate I6 is secured by rivets ll or the like to the wall of the casing B centrally over the aperture l5. This plate is provided with an aperture [8 centrally therein in alignment with the aperture E5 in the casing and a threaded lamp base socket I9 is provided outwardly thereabout adapted to receive the base 20 of a lamp 2! in a manner so that the base contact 22 makes contact with lead l4 therebeneath.

An externally threaded circular raised flange 23 is formed outwardly from the plate [6 concentrically about and at a spaced distance from the socket base l9.

A semi-circular hollow frame 24 provided with internal threads 25 at the open end thereof is divided into sections to form two transparent windows 26 each comprising a quarter of the frame and in adjacent positions in one-half thereof. The windows are enclosed by a suitable clear or colored glass and light passing plastic and when the frame is threadedly secured about the flange 23 the lamp is enclosed therein and allows the radiance of the lamp, when energized, to be directed through said windows therewithout which would normally be downwardly from beneath the skate thus lighting the fioor therebeneath when the light is secured to the skate in the manner about to be described.

A U-shaped bracket 21 is secured by rivets 28 at a position on the casing B degrees from the outwardly disposed axis of the lamp 2|. The outwardly disposed legs '29 of the U-shaped bracket 21 are adapted to securely support, by means of a nut and bolt 30, identical elongated arms 3| which carry at their outer extremities hook-like bent ends 32 which are adapted to securely engage the, opposite edges of the foot support I of the skate in such a manner as to dispose the lamp and casing in a depending position therebelow. A threaded bolt 33 is secured by a nut 34 to one of the extensions 3| to extend through the other arm 3| where it is pivotally secured to a cam lever 35 which acts against that arm 3| to perform the minor tightening clamping action of forcing the hooked ends 32 together when they are positioned properly on the skate and locking them in such a position. Larger adjustments for various windowed skate foot supports are made by adjustment of the nut 34 either lengthening or shortening the bolt 33 between the arms 3|.

A switch is provided with the casing B to provide a selective means of contact for energizing the lamp. The switch comprises a circular pin 31 provided with a knurled knob 38 at one end thereof with a semi-circular 'detent D diametrically disposed therebeneath. The pin is inserted into the aperture 1 and retained rotatably therein by a small coil spring 39 mounted thereabout with one end seating against the insulating washer 9 and the second end in outward abutment with a bar 40 extending transverse'the innermost end of said pin thus resiliently retaining it in an inward position.

The pin is allowed to be moved inward by said spring to make contact with the lower face of the battery I l to complete the light circuit when said semi-circular detent is rotated with said pin to align diametrically with and be adjacent to the flat surfaces of the cap 6 adjacent the aperture 1-. When said pin is rotated to bring the detent D outward over the raised boss 8 the pin is drawn outwardly of said aperture out of contact from said battery to open the light circuit.

Thus it can be seen that this invention provides a light with varied decorative qualities with the variation of the colors used in the windows 26 and by the adjustment of these windows to direct the light upwardly or downwardly selective with the rotation of the frame 24 about the flange 23, as well as a light which may be selectively turned on or oif by operation of the rotatable pin 31 by means of the knurledknob 38.

It may also be seen that a light of the character described may be securely removably attached to a roller skate for use while saidskate is being worn for rigorous antics such as trick skating, dancing or the like to provide a decorative effect at that time.

Having thus fully described and explained the construction and functional operation of this invention and with full belief that variations and modifications in size, shape and general characteristics would not constitute a departure from this invention what I desire to claim in Letters Patent is:

I claim:

A light for roller skates, comprising a cylindrical battery casing to be mounted beneath the foot support plate of the skate between the front and rear wheels of the skate, the cylindrical battery casing having its longitudinal axis disposed horizontally and extending transversely of the foot support plate, a substantially U-shaped bracket secured to the side of the cylindrical battery casing and extending longitudinally thereof, the bracket including opposed arms extending radially upwardly from the battery casing and provided near their free ends with notches to receive the opposite longitudinal edges of the 001) support plate for detachably securing the battery casing to such plate, a light bulb socket securedto the side of the cylindrical batter casing and spaced circumferentially from the bracket substantially 90 degrees, the socket projecting radially forwardly and having its axis disposed horizontally, a translucent cap mounted upon the socket and projecting forwardly thereof, a lightbulb mounted within the socket and disposed inside of the cap, the bulb having a terminal projecting radially into the side of the battery casing near the longitudinal center of the casing, a battery mounted within the casing and having an end terminal close to one end of the casing, an L- shaped conductor electrically connected with the end terminal of the battery and with the terminal of the bulb projecting into the battery casing, a removable cap for the end of the battery casing remote from the end terminal of the battery, and a switch device carried by the cap and including an element shiftable axially of the casing into and out of contact with the adjacent end'of the battery for closing and opening the circuit through the bulb.

GERALD L. HOOLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS 1 Number Name 1 Date 1,597,823 Randolph c Aug. 31, 1926 1,933,243 Merolis et al. Oct. 31, 1933 2,140,224 Galgoczy Dec..13, 1938 2,280,457 Sutclifie. Apr. 21, 1942 2,355,247 Slocum Aug; 8, 1944 

